asked the Minister for the Environment if he will remove the statutory condition of the house improvement scheme which imposes a ten year waiting period between the payment of a previous grant and the commencement of new work as this condition causes great hardship in many cases, particularly where the very fabric of the house is endangered.
Written Answers. - House Improvement Scheme.
21.
In conjunction with the introduction of the revised scheme of house improvement grants, a number of relaxations of the waiting period requirements have been made including the general reduction from ten years to seven years in the waiting period from the date of payment of a previous house improvement grant to the commencement of work under the revised scheme. Under a further relaxation a grant may be paid under the new scheme for works to the basic fabric of a house in a case where a grant was paid under the 1981 scheme provided that the works carried out under that scheme were of a different category from the works now proposed.